A week later the first quarter of the semester is over. I put off checking my final grades for as long as possible, but when I get a furious sounding text from my mom, it basically tells me all I need to know.

Mom: I can't believe this, Emerson. You couldn't manage a single A or B?? How hard is it to not fail something? I'm so disappointed.

I forget that my mom has the login for my online grades. Of course she would be checking them the moment they're posted. I go online as well to see for myself and I'm not entirely surprised by the straight C's and one D. Not great grades, but also not failing as my mom so lovingly put it.

Em: I'm sorry mom. I'll try harder this quarter.

Mom: You better. If I don't see some improvement there will be serious consequences.

As a twenty year old who no longer lives with her, I wonder what serious consequences entails. What can she legally do to punish a grown adult?

I suppose she could stop paying for school, but that's hardly a bad thing in my eyes. I never really saw college as the next step for me once I finished high school, but mom insisted. More like forced. I was never a prime student in high school and it's even more so in college. If that's not obvious enough.

Despite it being the end of the quarter and getting a small break before next quarter starts, I decide to hunker down and do some studying. I want to at least be able to look my mom in the eyes and say I tried. Even if it leads to nothing in the end.

But I hardly get a chance before there's a pounding on my door. I frown, glancing up, knowing my roommate Annie is out for the night and she's not one to ever forget her keys.

I slowly trail to the door and open it, finding Brody on the other side.

He smiles at me, leaning forward to give me a chaste kiss on the cheek in greeting before breezing past me into the room. I hadn't expected him, so I'm dressed in the same pair of pajamas I've been lounging in all day. It contradicts greatly with the crisp, blue button down he wears with a blazer and slacks. His blonde hair is styled to perfection, as always. Not a single strand out of place.

"Hey, baby, what are you doing here?" I question, shutting the door to turn around and face him.

His eyes glance around the dorm, at the old dishes in the sink and the scattered laundry leading a trail to the bathroom door. His brow perks, clear judgement on his face.

"When was the last time you cleaned?" He asks, ignoring my question.

I glance to the side with embarrassment. Most of this mess is Annie's, but it's kind of been an unspoken understanding between us that I do the cleaning. I'm not sure why or how it happened. Maybe because I can't stand the mess for more than a day without feeling anxious and she knows if she waits around long enough I'll just cave and do it for her.

"I was going to clean later tonight." I assure him, "After I study."

His face furrows, "Why are you studying? Quarters over, we're on break."

My lips pull into a tight frown and I hesitate to meet his eyes as I mutter, "I didn't have such great final grades. My mom is really upset with me and wants me to try harder."

I expect him to be mad at me too, but his face just morphs into a softer expression and he steps closer, reaching his arms out to pull me into a tender hug, "Aw, Em, I'm sorry."

"Thanks." I mumble into his shoulder, breathing in deeply as his familiar scent helps to calm me. It's a smell I've grown attached to since junior year of high school, when we first began dating.

He strokes my back and remarks, "Your mom expects too much of you. She should understand by now that school just isn't where you excel. Not everyone has the apt for it."

His words are meant to comfort me, but I know the meaning behind them. You're dumb, Emerson. Just accept it.

Maybe he's right.

I pull out of the hug and send him a grateful smile, "She's just trying to ensure I have the best life possible."

He nods his head, "No, I know. But you don't have to worry about that. I'll always take care of you. "

Being that our relationship is four years old, I shouldn't be surprised when Brody talks like this. It's always been his plan that he'll graduate with his MBA, take over his dad's business, inherit his fortune, and marry me.
It's a nice plan, in theory. But I can't stake my entire future on the hope that nothing will happen to us before then, leaving me alone and with no backup plan.

Except I'm not sure if school is the right backup plan for me.

"If you ever need help with homework, you can always come to me." Brody offers, a small smirk taking over his mouth, "I got all A's this quarter."

My response is slow. I'm proud of him, but also can't shake the feeling that he's dangling this over me, as if to punctuate look, I'm smart and you're not. He waits for me to say something, frowning slightly when all I do is stare at him.

Finally I break out of it to smile and say, "That's amazing, baby. I'm really proud of you."

His grin is triumphant as he juts his chin out and replies, "Thanks. It was nothing."

I step back to glance at his outfit and ask, "Is that why you're so dressed up?"

He nods his head, pulling at the sleeves of his blazer as he reveals, "Yes, we're celebrating tonight. So go get dressed in something more... appropriate."

I glance down at my worn-out, fleece pajama pants with a frown, "We're going out? Brody, I told you I need to study."

"C'mon, Em." He sighs, rolling his eyes before looking at me with earnest, "You can do that anytime. I really want to go out and have fun. You never do stuff with me anymore. You're always so busy with homework or writing that dumb book."

I feel a pang in my chest. Much like my mom, Brody doesn't see the point in me wasting my time with writing, especially when it interferes with spending time with him.

He's also a master at making me feel guilty over it.

He continues to stare me down with an expectant expression until I finally cave with a heavy sigh, "Alright, fine. I'll just study tomorrow."

His grin is victorious as he replies, "Sweet, thank you, Em."

"Where are we going?" I question, running through my mind everything I have to do to get ready.

"There's a new club that opened up downtown. We're meeting some people there." He tells me, already shifting around with excitement.

"Some people?" I cock my brow at him.

"Yeah, you know, Chad and all them." He shrugs, referencing his best friend.

"Okay. Just give me like thirty minutes." I request, shuffling down the hallway, racking my brain for any appropriate club outfits I may have. Not much comes to mind.

"Try to hurry." He bids me, pulling his phone out as he settles down on the couch to wait.

Twenty minutes later I have my frizzy, brown hair straightened and a moderately okay make-up job done. I experimented a bit with a new eyeshadow palette that Brody's sister gave me for my birthday. My make-up is usually minimal, so I'm no expert with a blending brush, but it turned out alright.

As far as outfits go, mine probably won't be the most flashy in the club tonight, but I think it looks good. I found some tight, black skinny jeans and paired them with a dark red blouse that hangs kind of low around the cleavage area, not that there's much to show off. I pull on some heeled booties to give myself a little extra height.

It all feels a little bland, though, so I rummage through my jewelry box for something to add an extra sparkle. Most of my jewelry is from Brody, but I have one diamond necklace that shines brighter than the rest. An heirloom, from my mom, who got it from her mom. It's beautiful and I almost never wear it, but tonight I can feel it's just the extra special something I need.

I glance over myself in my full length mirror, happy with the end result on such short notice. The necklace sparkles brightly, bringing out the brightness in my blue eyes. I feel confident, but at the last moment I pull out a jacket to cover my bare arms and give me some sense of protection against peering gazes.

When I walk out to show Brody he glances up with a small smile, giving me a once over before noting, "You look nice. Much better than before. Ready?"

I nod, grabbing my purse and phone before following him outside to his black Bentley parked out on the curb.

The club is about a ten minute drive, and when we get there Brody pays for the valet and leads us to the entrance. A line backs out of the door spanning half the block, but it's hardly a concern for him. He steps right up to the bouncer and slips him a hundred dollar bill. The large man nods and steps to the side, allowing us inside, earning a fair amount of protest from the people at the front of the line.

I cling to Brody's arm as he leads us through the heavy crowd of people. The lighting is low with random strobe lights flashing all over the place and loud music shakes the entire building. I feel anxious the further in we wade. Crowds have never been my favorite thing, but Brody is like my anchor pulling me along.

He seems to know exactly where to go, reaching the other side of the large, open area where a long bar takes up the entire wall. There are crowds of people flocking it and beyond it are rows of round booths. Most are occupied, but we walk up to one that sits a few familiar faces.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" Brody greets enthusiastically over the music when we reach his friends.

"Hey, you finally made it!" Chad shouts, holding his hand out to slap palms with Brody before glancing at me and nodding, "Hi, Em, good to see yah."

I smile back, "Hi, you too."

Brody ushers me to sit down, and everyone around the booth shifts to make room. I glance around, recognizing Brody's other friend Geoff and his girlfriend Vivianne. We've hung out with them plenty over the years, but beside them are two girls I've never seen before.

Brody knows this as he makes introductions, "Em, this is Liss and Yireth. Liss is in one of my classes and Yireth is her friend." He turns to the girls and gestures to me, "This is Em, my girlfriend."

Yireth's smile is friendly towards me as she leans forward so I can hear her, "It's nice to meet you."

"You too." I return, glancing at Liss who is watching me with a bored expression over the rim of her glass.

She appears to be much less friendly, pursing her lips as she mutters an insincere, "So glad you could make it."

I try not to judge her too hard for her attitude towards me, even though I get the feeling that she really doesn't like me. How could she already hate me when she's just met me?

The conversation moves on quickly. Chad turns to Brody and grins coyly, "So since we're celebrating you tonight I assume drinks are on you?"

Brody barks out a quick laugh while shaking his head, "Yeah right. Nice try, asshole."

"Great job again on the all A's, Brody." Vivianne pipes up, "That's really impressive."

"Yeah, way to make us all look bad." Geoff adds.

"You don't need my help to look bad, dude. Didn't you only have two classes this quarter and you still managed to fail them both?" Brody jokes and the table laughs while Geoff flips him off but still laughs along.

I listen as they continue to talk and joke around, but I don't contribute much to the conversation. Brody's friends have always been nice and accepting of me, but they're not really my friends. When I think about it, Brody is the closest friend I have. He's actually all I have.

In high school I used to hang out with a lot of people. I had my circle. But when Brody and I got together I started paying less attention to them and more attention to him. Our relationship kind of overtook all of my social life and slowly my friends slipped into the background until disappearing altogether after graduation.

Now his life is my only social circle.

As the night goes on, drinks are ordered. Brody goes through a few beers as I sip at my gin and tonic. It's always been my drink of choice but when I finish the glass and glance around for a waitress to order another I feel Brody's hand squeeze my thigh and I look over at him.

His eyes are stern as he whispers in my ear for only me to hear, "One is enough. I don't want you drinking too much."

I frown but remain silent as he turns back to the conversation. I could point out that he gets to drink as much as he wants, but I don't.
After a little while, once everyone has a good buzz going, Brody leans back and suggests, "Let's go dance."

Chad quickly agrees, and I see Yireth and Liss both perk up at the thought, but I hesitate. Brody knows I hate dancing. He knows I'm self conscious. But he turns to look at me as if I should be agreeing already.

"I don't really want to dance, baby." I tell him softly, gripping my empty glass and avoiding his gaze.

I hear him sigh dramatically, "You never want to do anything, Em."

I frown. His words hurt but I remind myself he's always a little blunt when he drinks. Across the table Liss remarks with a sly smile, "I'll dance with you, Brody."

I narrow my gaze at her but she just smirks before scooting out of the booth with Yireth. Chad also gets up, but across the table Geoff and Vivianne stay put.

Vivianne is sending me a supportive smile as she tells the table, "I don't want to dance either. The floor is packed, it won't be any fun."

I feel a small sense of relief knowing I won't be the only party pooper and Geoff agrees to stay with his girlfriend. Brody glances back at me with a short huff, waiting for me to change my mind, but I don't.

"Fine, you can stay with them." He decides, getting up as well and following the others to the dance floor.

I watch them go, and they're slowly devoured by the crowd, but before they're completely out of view I see Liss move closer to Brody and snake her arm around his neck. I feel a deep twist in my gut watching the pair with a small frown plastered on my face.

I turn to Vivianne and Geoff and mutter, "I'm going to find the bathroom."

"Do you want me to come with?" Vivianne offers, but I shake my head. I want to be alone right now.

"No, thank you, I'll be alright."

I quickly move out of the booth and make my way across the room. I stay along the walls, as it's not as crowded as the center, while keeping my eyes peeled for a restroom sign. It's so dark and chaotic in here though, I can't see a thing.

I pause to lean against the wall and will myself not to cry. You're such a baby, Em. I berate myself. Why am I so upset? I should be trying to have fun right now, but this is anything but. Brody is off dancing with another girl all because I'm too lame to dance with him myself.

"You look lost, sweetheart." A deep voice to my right has me snapping my gaze up. A strange man in his mid-thirties looms over me with a creeping smile on his face.

I frown and shift away, backing further against the wall as I tell him, "I'm fine. I'm here with my boyfriend."

"You look alone to me." He notes, stepping closer. I see his eyes dip down to my chest and I instinctively pull my jacket tighter around me.
"He went to get me a drink, he's coming right back." I lie, knowing if this guy thinks Brody will be walking up any second that he'll leave me alone.

He doesn't. Instead reaching out to brush my shoulder as he offers, "I can get you a drink, sweetheart. What would you like?"

I shake my head, "No, thank you. I'm fine."

His hand creeps further along my arm, causing my skin to crawl as he stares at me like I'm a piece of meat.

"Why so curt? I'm just trying to be nice."

"Please just leave me alone." I mutter, glancing around to see if there's anyone who can come help me. I'm met with the faces of strangers who are too drunk to notice anything.

The guy's hand moves to my hip, tugging lightly on my jacket as he urges, "C'mon, sweetheart. Relax a bit, come dance with me."

He moves in closer on me, trapping me against the wall and my heartbeat starts to quicken. I turn away from him and restate a little more firmly, "No. Leave me alone."

"Don't be like that." He cooes, cupping my cheek with his other hand.

I'm ready to start screaming but then the guy is suddenly yanked back by the collar of his shirt.

"She said no, asshole." A new, masculine voice barks at the creeper, who is rubbing his throat where his collar choked him. He takes one look at the guy behind him and quickly scurries off like a kicked puppy. I smile as I watch him go before glancing over to thank my new savior.

My mouth drops open and my eyes bulge with surprise when I see who it is.

"Ghost?"

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AN;

Another chapter! Let me know what you think! Please comment and vote, I really appreciate it.

- Xo Sarah